Committee to Protect Journalists calls defamation suit against NDTV an attack on press freedom
New Delhi, Oct 20: The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday condemned the Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Group’s defamation case against NDTV, asking it to end its excessive use of civil defamation cases against critical news outlets. In a statement on Thursday, the news channel had said that Ambani’s group has sued it for Rs 10,000 crore over its coverage of the Rafale jet deal.
The defamation lawsuit was filed after an episode of NDTV’s weekly show Truth vs Hype that aired on September 29. The matter has been listed for hearing on October 26.
NDTV denied the charges and said it will argue in court that they are “a heavy-handed attempt by Anil Ambani’s group to suppress the facts and prevent the media from doing its job – asking questions about a defence deal and seeking answers that are very much in public interest”.
“The ridiculously massive civil defamation claim Reliance Group has made against NDTV amounts to a severe attack on press freedom in India,” Committee to Protect Journalists’ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler said on Friday. “India’s judiciary must ensure that powerful business groups cannot abuse the country’s legal system to silence critics.”
The United States-based non-governmental organisation pointed out that the Reliance Group had repeatedly ignored NDTV’s requests to participate in the show or submit a written response. The panel also said that the Reliance Group had filed a defamation suit for Rs 5,000 crore against Congress mouthpiece National Herald.
The Committee to Protect Journalists added that a spokesperson for the Reliance Group refused to respond to its request for comment.
Courtesy: scroll.in
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
JD(S) to protest against Karnataka govt over price hike, 'corruption'
Bengaluru, Apr 9 (PTI): The JD(S) will hold a massive protest on April 12 against the Congress government in Karnataka over price hike and alleged corruption.
The protest led by Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy will be held at Freedom Park here under its campaign "Sakappa Saaku Congress Sarkara" (Enough is Enough Congress Government).
JD(S) Youth President Nikhil Kumaraswamy, launched a new website (www.saakappasaaku.com) highlighting the "misdeeds" of the Congress government.
In a statement, Nikhil said not only JD(S) workers, but anyone from the state could register on the website and participate in the protests.
He alleged that the Congress dispensation has continuously increased prices of essential commodities for the past two years.
"Gradually, every sector has seen price hikes, pushing the people of the state into distress. There is growing debate across the state about the government's actions," he stated.
Saakappa Saaku, Congress Government!
— Nikhil Kumar (@Nikhil_Kumar_k) April 9, 2025
Scan the code, join the movement!
ಸಾಕಪ್ಪ ಸಾಕು, ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಸರ್ಕಾರ!
ಸ್ಕ್ಯಾನ್ ಮಾಡಿ, ನಿಮ್ಮ ನಮ್ಮ ಹೋರಾಟಕ್ಕೆ ಕೈ ಜೋಡಿಸಿ!https://t.co/hGu5CaCtsv#SaakappaSaaku pic.twitter.com/vek7kMQtMT
